According to multiple dictionaries, there are variabilities in defining the color maroon. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines maroon as a dark reddish-purple color while its "American Dictionary" section defines maroon as dark brown-red. This suggests slight perceptual differences in the U.K. versus North America.[5] Lexico online dictionary defines maroon as a brownish-red.[6] Similarly, Dictionary.com defines maroon as a dark brownish-red.[7] The Oxford English Dictionary describes maroon as "a brownish crimson (strong red) or claret (purple color) color,"[8] while the Merriam-Webster online dictionary simply defines it as a dark red.[9]
In the sRGB color model for additive color representation, the web color called maroon is created by turning down the brightness of pure red to about one half. It is also noted that maroon is the complement of the web color called teal.[1]
Etymology
The word "maroon" derives from the French marron, meaning chestnut.
Maroon is derived from Frenchmarron ("chestnut"),[10] itself from the Italianmarrone that means both chestnut and brown (but the color maroon in Italian is granata and in French is grenat), from the medieval Greek maraon.[11]
The first recorded use of maroon as a color name in English was in 1789.[12]
Maroon, along with golden yellow, is worn in the Philippines by Catholic devotees of the Black Nazarene, especially during its procession on 9 January.
National symbols
Maroon and white are the colors of the Flag of Qatar.
Maroon, gold, teal and orange are the colors of the Flag of Sri Lanka
The Flag of Latvia has sometimes been called maroon and white, although the officially declared colors were red and white,[14] and in 2009 were changed to carmine and white.[15]
Maroon was named as the official color of the state of Queensland, Australia, in November 2003. While the declared shade of maroon in sRGB is R=115, G=24, B=44, Queenslanders display the spirit of the state by wearing all shades of maroon at sporting and cultural events.[16]
Politics
Maroon is the color of the Dutch far-right political party Forum for Democracy.
Military
The distinctive maroon beret has been worn by many airborne forces around the world since 1942.[17] It is sometimes referred to as the "red beret."
Historically maroon was the distinguishing color of the Caçadores (rifle) regiments of the Portuguese Army.
Business
Maroon is the signature color of the Japanese private rail company, Hankyu Railway, decided by a vote of women customers in 1923.[18] In the 1990s, Hankyu planned an alternative color as it was developing new vehicles. That plan was called off following opposition by local residents
Many universities, colleges, high schools and other educational institutions have maroon as one of their school colors. Popular combinations include maroon and white, maroon and grey, maroon and gold, and maroon and blue.
Maroon is the official school color of the University of Chicago. The school also employs light and dark gray in its official primary color palette.[26]
Sports teams often use maroon as one of their identifying colors, as a result, many have received the nickname "Maroons."
The University of Chicago Maroons have used the nickname (and the corresponding color) since a vote came at a meeting of students and faculty on May 5, 1894.[36]
Heart of Midlothian F.C. have played in predominantly maroon colours since 1877, although they had maroon badge and trimmings in their first kit from their formation in 1874.[40]
Official colour of Italian association football team Torino_F.C. Club's fans are known as I Granata (the Maroons in italian).
Official colour of Argentina's association football team Club_Atlético_Lanús (Los Granates).
Maroons was the official nickname of the athletic teams representing Mississippi State College, now Mississippi State University from 1932 until 1961 when it was officially changed to the Bulldogs. Bulldogs had been used as an unofficial nickname as far back as 1905.[41]
Maroons is also the common nickname for the Queensland Rugby League team when it plays against the Blues (the New South Welshmen) in an annual competition of three games known as the State of Origin series in Australia.
Displayed in the adjacent table is the color rich maroon, i.e. maroon as defined in the X11 color names, which is much brighter and more toned toward rose than the HTML/CSS maroon shown above.
See the chart Color name clashes in the X11 color names article to see those colors that are different in HTML/CSS and X11.
^Cambridge English Dictionary on-line; "maroon is red!!!"; Webster's New World Dictionary of American English, 3rd College Edition, (1988). "A dark brown". Random House College Dictionary (1975), "a dark brownish".
^According to the 1994 law, Latvijas valsts karogs ir sarkans ar baltu svītru. (Latvian national flag is red with a white stripe.) "Par Latvijas valsts karogu (The Latvian flag)" (in Latvian). The Saeima (legislature) of Latvia. 1994. Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Sarkans is the word for "red" in Latvian, while "maroon" is petarde. Turkina, Eiženija & Zitare, K. (1977). Latvian-English Dictionary (second ed.). Waverly, Iowa: Latvju Gramata (Rota Press). OCLC3085262.
^Latvijas valsts karogs ir karmīnsarkans ar baltu horizontālu svītru. (The Latvian national flag is carmine with white horizontal stripes.)"Latvijas valsts karoga likums (The Latvian flag law)" (in Latvian). The Saeima (legislature) of Latvia. 17 November 2009.
Color coordinates
